1. Field
The invention relates to a ski binding and, more particularly, a spring cartridge to adjust biasing force acting on a ski binding.
2. Description of the Related Art
Skiing is a very popular pastime and enjoyed by a great many people. A variety of different skiing styles and disciplines exist, one particular form being touring skiing. In touring skiing, a ski is provided with a special binding which allows rotation of the ski boot relative to the plane of the ski. Typically, the front part of the ski boot is attached by means of the rotatable binding part of the ski binding, with the heel of the boot being free to move up and round out of the plane of the ski. Such skiing is often called telemark skiing. Telemark ski bindings allow the skier to bring the heel of the boot off the surface of the ski, and is thus useful for ski touring. In such a discipline, the skier uses the ski to walk up the side of the ski slopes, and thus requires that the ski boot can rotate relative to the ski.
As is clear from the above, providing a rotatable section to the ski binding for allowing the ski boot to rotate with respect to the ski, must be done under controlled conditions. Free rotation of the ski relative to the boot is undesirable, and thus it is necessary to provide a biasing force on the ski boot or binding such that the ski boot will generally be biased back into contact with the ski. With this biasing acting upon the rotatable section of the binding, free rotation of the ski is avoided, and the skier has much more control over the movement of the ski relative to the boot. Additionally, the biasing means can be used to provide a maximum rotation of the boot compared with the ski, which also improves the control in the technique.
Typically, a telemark binding will be provided with some sort of cable which provides the biasing for repositioning the rotatable section of the ski binding back into contact with the main portion of the ski binding, such that the boot is drawn back into contact with the ski. This biasing cable is usually fixed to the ski binding such that it passes from the stationary, or main part of the binding, which is left in contact with the ski, through to the rotatable part of the binding. By providing some sort of tensioning means to the cable, the cable can allow rotation of the rotatable binding part, whilst also ensuring that the restorative force then acts to bring the rotatable binding part back into its rest position. Generally, some sort of spring element is provided attached between the cable and one part of the ski binding, wherein the spring element allows the cable to move with respect to a spring, either compressing or stretching a spring thus adding the restoration or biasing force by means of the spring elements.
Known systems of spring elements require the specific use of tools in order to adjust the amount of tension the spring provides to the cable. It is important to be able to adjust the restoring force provided by the cable, as the binding may be used by different people or in different conditions. One restorative force is suitable for certain conditions and certain skiers, but not necessarily for different skiers or conditions. Typically, it is not easy to change the restorative force acting on the cable from the spring, thus impacting on the enjoyment to the skier.
The present disclosure presents a simple system by which the restorative force acting on the biasing cable can be adjusted in a simple manner.